Owner of derelict barge Davy Crockett indicted on charges of polluting Columbia River

View full sizeJimmy Alford/Daily RecordBret Simpson was indicted today on accusations of attempting to scrap the barge Davy Crockett in the Columbia River and spewing pollution, which resulted in a $20 million government cleanup earlier this year. This photo is from a scrap metal business he ran in Washington state in 2008.

A federal grand jury today indicted a Washington man on accusations of attempting to scrap the barge Davy Crockett in the Columbia River and spewing pollution, an incident that sparked a $20 million government cleanup earlier this year.

Bret A. Simpson, a scrap dealer from Ellensburg, Wash., is charged with two felony counts of Clean Water Act violations in December and January, one for unlawful discharge and one for failing to immediately report the pollution.

The indictment alleges that Simpson purchased the 430-foot converted World War II Navy vessel in June 2010, knew it had fuel oil and diesel aboard, but did not remove the contamination before beginning to scrap it on the Columbia near Camas, Wash.

Simpson and a crew began dismantling the barge in October. On Dec. 1, the vessel started breaking and began to leak after a worker cut a structural beam. But neither Simpson nor anyone else acting on behalf of his company, Principle Metals, LLC, reported the pollution, the indictment says. He did stop the scrapping and used a containment boom to limit the release.

On Jan. 19, debris accumulating by the barge shifted the vessel and caused further leaks. The Coast Guard responded and ordered him to remove oil in deck-level tubes and in fuel tanks near the break, which he did. Simpson told authorities that the barge no longer posed a pollution risk, the indictment says.

The Coast Guard and other regulators built a coffer dam around the barge and finished removing it from the river in August at a cost of more than $20 million.

The case has also spurred more oversight of other derelict vessels in the Northwest. That includes Barge 202, a derelict barge now parked downstream of The Dalles Dam that regulators believe Simpson helped scrap before it floated from its moorings and into the Columbia's shipping channel in July.

If convicted of failing to report the release, Simpson faces a prison term of up to five years and a fine of not more than $250,000. If convicted of unlawfully discharging oil to the river, he faces a up to three years in prison and a fine of $5,000 to $50,000 for each day of violation.

Simpson's ability to pay fines or cleanup costs is questionable. He filed for bankruptcy in 2008, court records show, listing monthly income of less than $3,000 and $1.6 million in debt.

Simpson could not be reached for comment and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said he does not yet have an attorney. His arraignment in U.S. District Court in Tacoma is scheduled for Oct. 14.